Car Rental in Santo Domingo

Those who love to see ruins will also find walking through the Dominican capital’s streets interesting. The first one that deserves to be mentioned is the Monastery of San Francisco, which was captured and pillaged by Francis Drake, as well as the Palace of Viceroys. The church was built in 1508 as the first monastery in the New World, according to Nicolas de Ovando’s project. Although the building was reconstructed after being plundered by a pirate and after two earthquakes (in 1673 and 1751), and after the hurricane in 1930, it finally became a ruin. It was home to a psychiatric hospital from 1880 to 1930. The Ruinas de Engombe complex, where the first New World sugar factory used to be located also deserves to be visited. Today we can see the ruins of a church, a palace, slave rooms, and a mill, all damaged by the same storm.

A beautiful place of interest in Dominica’s capital is the monument built in honor of America’s discoverer – Faro A Colon. It was built in 1986 according to Joseph Lee Gleeve’s project, who designed it back in 1931 – but then his plans were not to be implemented. The monument was unveiled in 1992, coinciding with the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America. The light rays on the monumental structure form a cruciform shape, but they are so powerful that they are visible from Puerto Rico. Inside is situated a museum with a collection of jewelry and objects related to the discovery of the New World.
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